Avid

Avid is a name synonymous with studio production, originally for its world-beating DAW Pro Tools (sometimes mistakenly spelt ‘Protools’) and subsequently for the high-spec hardware that accompanies it.

Having ditched the old ‘Digidesign’ branding and having launched Avid Pro Tools 10 recently, both amateur and pro producers have a wealth of hardware options available to them, most famously the tried and true Mbox range of modestly-priced portable I/O boxes, which have always kept usability and quality components at the forefront of their design. Many a now-famous producer started with an Avid Mbox, and with Pro and Mini versions also available, there’s undoubtedly the right interface for every level of producer.

Of course, if you’re planning on taking things further then you’ll need true DAW control, and fortunately the Avid Artist range of professional control surfaces brings every function and parameter to hand via fluid, easily-accessible faders, sliders and buttons.

For much more ambitious projects, the formidable Avid C24 allows you to preside over 24 channels at once, coupling every physical control you need for recording, editing, mixing and mastering, with a dedicated 5.1 analogue monitor section and high quality inputs.

The Eleven Rack, meanwhile, is a recording solution exclusively for guitarists, allowing them to connect directly to their Pro Tools rig with astonishingly powerful onboard rack DSP that models amps and effects effortlessly.

Along with the emergence of Pro Tools 10 has come the new HDX card, which when stacked with two others is capable of handling an astonishing 768 tracks at pristine resolutions. It’s yet again an advancement from a company already streets ahead of the majority of the competition.